| Message | PIE Considering the near disaster of the pies falling apart I was taken aback when I first tasted the filling. Although the minced beef was not quite as tender as I am used to the taste was 100% authentic and brought a huge grin to my face. While the crust (as damaged as it was) tasted excellent, the base was a little disappointing. I usually wax lyrical about the "soft, slippery, silver underbelly" of pie and mash pies which, to me, are usually reminiscent of the underbelly of a freshly caught trout. This base, however, seemed to resemble slightly soggy shortcrust pastry. That said it was indeed tasty. I would have liked to give the pies four stars, simply based on the taste of the filling, but I have reduced it to three because of the mentioned problems.
MASH The consistency of the mash was very good and the only added taste I could detect was a little salt. There were lumps in it, proving that it was real mashed potato. If you don't like lumps then they are easily mashed out. I am left wondering what type of potato they use to achieve the authentic pie and mash shop feel and taste (Maris Piper?).
LIQUOR Although I had initially tasted the cold liquor and been a little concerned (have you ever tasted cold congealed liquor?), there was no need to worry. On the finished dish it tasted surprisingly authentic. It had just the right amounts of salt and parsley and I had got the consistency just right. The liquor made the dish proper pie and mash. |